Alternative and Left book shops were once a common sight in larger cities – and could even be found in smaller towns when there was a sufficiently vibrant radical culture to support them.

Some failed after no more than a few months, while others traded more or less successfully for decades. And while many later arrivals from the 1960s onwards were eclectic in their radical politics, drawing on feminist, anarchist and other traditions, some of the more successful and enduring shops were directly aligned with a political party. And the most successful and enduring of them all were those linked to the Communist Party of Great Britain.

The latest issue of Radical Bookselling History Newsletter carries a detailed article by Dave Cope on the history of Communist Party bookshops from the early 1920s, soon after the party was founded, to the 1990s, when CPGB bookshops ceased to exist, and Left bookshops in general were in steep decline. 

Dave Cope will be known to many as the man behind the online bookshop Left on the Shelf, and he has spent most of his working life in the radical book trade, managing Progressive Books in Liverpool from 1975 before moving to Central Books in London in 1987. His article, which draws on both extensive personal experience and much research, is a fascinating read for those who have spent time on either side of the counter as radical book sellers or radical book buyers.

The newsletter also includes articles on Edinburgh’s Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive, and the Corner Bookshop in Leeds.

• Radical Bookselling History Newsletter, issue 5, November 2022 (PDF format)

• Previous issues and other research.

• Left on the Shelf online bookshop.